Week 1: Applying principles of Learning Theory and the study and measurement of behaviour Flashcards
A type of associative learning demonstrated in 1899 by Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov.
Classical Conditioning
The Theory of _______ __________ explains how reflex behaviour may become associated with a new stimulus that does not naturally activate that behaviour.
Classical Conditioning
What are the five elements of classical conditioning?
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned response (UCR)
Neutral stimulus (NS)
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Conditioned response (CR)
In Pavlov’s original experiment on classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) was:
a) salivation elicited by the meat powder
b) the meat
c) salivation elicited by a tone
d) the sound of a tone
d) the sound of a tone
Hali is enjoying fish and chips for dinner while watching ‘The Bachelor’. A few hours later she is feeling nauseous and experiences food poisoning. The next week when she sits down to watch ‘The Bachelor’ she feels nauseous. ‘The Bachelor’ is…
a) The unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
b) The conditioned stimulus (CS)
c) The conditioned response (CR)
d) The unconditioned response (UCR)
b) The conditioned stimulus (CS)
What is an Unconditioned Response (UCR)? You can choose more than one answer.
a) It is usually a reflex and response of the autonomic nervous system
b) Presenting it results in UCR occurring
c) It is an innate or unlearned response to the UCS.
d) It involuntarily elicits the UCR
a) It is usually a reflex and response of the autonomic nervous system
c) It is an innate or unlearned response to the UCS.
Little Albert’s Fear of white rats is an example of __________conditioning.
classical
____________is the decreasing strength of a response after repeated exposure to a stimulus?
Habituation
Something that elicits a response or reaction?
Stimulus
Classical conditioning was discovered from which experiment in the 1890s?
Pavlov’s dog experiment
EXCESSIVE and IRRATIONAL fear of
an object, place or situation
Phobia
Before conditioning:
Unconditioned Stimulus elicits ______ Response,
Neutral Stimulus does not (no response)
Unconditioned
During conditioning: Repeated pairing of Unconditioned Stimulus & Neutral Stimulus results in ________ response.
Unconditioned
After conditioning:
Neutral Stimulus is now a Conditioned Stimulus,
which elicits a _______ Response.
Conditioned
The Unconditioned Response (UCR) is
- an innate or unlearned response to the UCS.
- usually reflexive & a response of the autonomic nervous system. True/False
true
Reflex behaviour is voluntary/involuntary?
Involuntary
(arises automatically in response to an appropriate stimulus, e.g. salivating at the smell of food, feeling fear when facing a frightening situation)
Emotional responses can/cannot be learned through classical conditioning.
can
(both positive and negative emotional responses can
be learned or conditioned)
Temporal or spatial pairing of the 2 stimuli (CS & UCS).
Reinforcement
Initial stage of learning something
Acquisition
Usually several pairings of the CS and UCS are needed before the CR is fully developed.
True/False
True
(the first series of CS-UCS pairings, and gradual appearance and strengthening of the CR occurs
during the acquisition phase of the experiment.
* Proceeds more quickly if the intensity of the UCS increases (i.e., a louder bell or tone; a stronger
puff of air)
This procedure produces a reduction and eventual disappearance of the CR. and involves repeatedly presenting the CS without the UCS
Extinction
e.g. If a dog salivates at the sound of a tone, after the acquisition phase, this salivation response will
gradually disappear if the tone is presented for many trials without food being delivered.
* When extinction is completed, no salivation will occur if the tone occurs.
The “reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of nonexposed” to the CS
Spontaneous Recovery
(conditioned responses have reappeared.
* Extinction does not simply “erase” the previous learning, or permanently “destroy” the CS—UCS
pairing)
After classical conditioning with a CS, the most similar stimuli will also elicit CRs, even though they have
never been paired with the UCS.
Generalisation
e.g. Tones of different frequencies may still elicit a CR, or different bells might elicit salivation
The opposite of generalisation and very important in the “real world” the subject learns to respond to one stimulus and
not to a similar stimulus.
Discrimination
(Impala (African antelopes) can learn to discriminate between African wild dogs (predators) that
have just eaten (& won’t attack) and hunting/hungry African wild dogs (very dangerous). Hungry
wild dogs elicit fear responses, but those that have eaten do not)
Some discrimination is difficult to learn, due to limitations in the animal’s sensory capacities as the 2 stimuli became difficult to tell apart. True/False
True
experimental neurosis
behaviour disturbance
Most learning is based on voluntary behaviours that tend to produce desired outcomes, such as rewards or positive reinforcers.
Operant conditioning
“a form of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences”
operant conditioning
Conditioning in which the organism DOES NOT just react to stimuli but operates on the environment?
Operant conditioning
American psychologist working in the early 1900s who used experimental
laboratory methods to study problem-solving behaviour in animals.
Edward L. Thorndike
(He was the first
researcher to systematically investigate how voluntary (not reflex) behaviours can be modified by
experience (learning)).
Two experimental tools used by Thorndike.
Puzzle box
Maze
Law formulated from the puzzle box experiment: Behaviour resulting in pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated in the same situation.
Law of Effect
_________ conditioning focuses on reflexive (involuntary) responses, while ____________ conditioning focuses on non-reflexive (voluntary) behaviours.
Classical, operant
ADDING something pleasant is _______________ reinforcement.
Positive
REMOVING something unpleasant is _______________ reinforcement.
Negative
ADDING something unpleasant is _____________ punishment.
Positive
REMOVING something pleasant is _______________ punishment.
Negative
A Skinner Box was used to demonstrate ______________ conditioning
Operant
Positive and negative reinforcement are examples of ______________ conditioning
Operant
Reinforcers and punishers are the _____________ of behaviour and come to affect the subsequent
frequency of behaviour (i.e., whether the frequency of behaviour will increase or decrease).
consequences
The ‘token economy’ is used in _______________ conditioning.
Operant
Monitoring your heart rate on a smart watch is an example of ________________.
Biofeedback
Reinforcement that provides rewards only after a certain amount of time.
Fixed interval
Reinforcement that provides rewards only after a certain amount of responses.
Fixed ratio
Reinforcement that provides a reward for a certain percentage of responses, but the number of responses required before reinforcement is unpredictable.
Variable ratio
Schedule of reinforcement connects reinforcement to an average interval of time but the exact time when reinforcement will be presented is unpredictable.
Variable interval
When a stimulus is presented/encountered repeatedly, and the response to it weakens
Habituation
The two types of associative learning (learning by association)
Classical conditioning & operant conditioning
A token economy programme is an example of
Secondary reinforcement
______________ conditioning is a type of learning in which behaviour is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.
Operant
(According to Skinner, an operant response is:
“a behavior that operates on its environment”)
Watson wanted
psychology to be a ‘hard’ not ‘armchair’ science. So, he concentrated on observable stimuli and observable
responses in humans and non-humans. His goal was to be able to predict a response from a given stimulus
or to specify a stimulus given the response.
stimulus—response behaviorism
S-R Behaviorism tries to show relationships between stimulus and response. It looks at behavioural change
in relation to environmental change. S-R relationships can be investigated no matter what happens inside
the participant (physiologically or psychologically).
This is sometimes called the “black-box approach” to
behaviour
Behavioural processes being studied are the same/similar in all
species.
Assumption
In classical conditioning, a ___________ stimulus becomes a _____________ stimulus after conditioning has occurred.
neutral, conditioned
In operant conditioning, if a behaviour has increased, ______________ must have been used.
Reinforcement
In operant conditioning, if a behaviour has decreased, ______________ must have been used.
Punishment
What involves adding something desirable to increase the frequency of a behaviour?
a) positive reinforcement
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) negative punishment
Positive reinforcement
What involves removing something desirable to decrease the frequency of a behaviour?
a) positive reinforcement
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) negative punishment
Negative punishment
What involves removing something unpleasant to increase the frequency of a behaviour?
a) positive reinforcement
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) negative punishment
Negative reinforcement
What involves adding something unpleasant to decrease the frequency of a behaviour?
a) positive reinforcement
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) negative punishment
Positive punishment
Occurs when responding is influenced by observation of
others (‘models’)
Observational learning
____________ occurs when an event following a response increases the tendency to make that response
Reinforcement
_____________ occurs when an event following a response decreases the tendency to make that response
Punishment
Stimuli that precede a response that can also influence operant behaviour
Discriminative stimuli
(It’s a cue signaling reinforcement or punishment)
A type of mind-body technique you use to control some of your body’s functions, such as your heart rate, breathing patterns and muscle responses
Biofeedback
A _________ reinforcement schedule is one in which every response is
reinforced, whenever it occurs.
continuous
If reinforcement is not continuous, then the schedule of reinforcement is __________.
intermittent
In this schedule, reinforcement is delivered after the completion of a number of responses. The required number of responses remains constant, ________ ratio
Fixed ratio (FR)
A schedule of reinforcement where a behaviour is reinforced after a random number of responses, ________ ratio.
Variable ratio (VR)
A schedule of reinforcement in which the first response is reinforced only after a set amount of time has elapsed, _______ interval.
Fixed interval (FI)
A schedule of reinforcement where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed, ________ interval.
Variable interval (VI)
The process of training a learned behaviour that would not normally occur. For each action closer to the desired outcome, a reinforcement or reward is provided until the target behaviour is achieved.
Shaping
Three main stages of shaping:
- specify target or goal behaviour
- identify a starting point response
- reinforce starting response until desired target is achieved
A favourable or positive outcome is more likely to strengthen a response if it immediately follows the
response. Conditioning proceeds slowly if there is a delay between a response and the delivery of the
reinforcer.
Delayed reinforcement
Through repeated pairings with a primary reinforcer (unconditioned), a secondary reinforcer (conditioned)
can also act as a reinforcer.
Conditioned reinforcement
Reinforcers that satisfy biological needs (e.g., food for a hungry organism, or water for a thirsty one).
Primary reinforcers
Reinforcers that depend on learning- for humans include money, tokens, material possessions etc.
Secondary reinforcers
A reward system used in a behaviour modification programs. It involves providing tangible rewards (tokens, food, stickers, etc.) for positive behaviours.
Token economy programmes
Technique where people can
‘recondition’ themselves to produce more ‘desirable’ behaviours (e.g. fewer cigarettes or cups of coffee,
more time spent studying), since “what is learned can be unlearned”
Behaviour modification
(used to change or remove unwanted behaviour)
Educational technique characterised by self-paced, self-administered instruction presented in logical sequence and with much repetition of concepts.
Programmed learning
Learning that occurs when responding is influenced by observation of others (models)
Observational Learning or modelling
Classical and operant conditioning can occur through observational learning (in humans & nonhumans). True/False
True
Psychologist who proposed Social Learning Theory?
Albert Bandura
Experiment that observed link between modelling and aggression?
Bobo doll experiment
Four necessary components for successful modelling (vicarious reinforcement):
- Attention
- Retention - ability to memorise modeled response
- Motor Reproduction - physical ability to perform modeled response
- Motivation - incentive to display modeled response
To improve animal welfare & psychological wellbeing (enhancing quality of life) and promotes retention of species-specific behaviours.
Behavioural enrichment
In ___________ environments, animals can usually escape
from severe conflict situations. For example, to avoid
fighting with a conspecific, the animal can offer
appeasement/submissive gestures or flee.
Natural
In ________ environments, animals cannot escape
from conflict situations, which can lead to extreme
stress and may result in stereotypic behaviours.
Captive
Name for:
* ‘abnormal’ or aberrant behaviours
* repetitive behaviour patterns
* and have no obvious function or goal & can be indicative of a welfare problem.
Stereotypical behaviours
Behavioural indicators of poor animal welfare:
Pacing
Head flicking
Weaving or ‘dancing’
Biting bars
Pattern swimming
Digging
Burghardt’s (1997) 5th ‘why’ (determinants) of behaviour
What is private experience of animal presenting the behaviour?
Personal world, subjective experience (individual)
Tinbergen’s (1963) four ‘whys’ (determinants) of behaviour:
- Function (survival / adaptive value): what is it for?
- Causation (control): how does it work?
- Ontogeny (development): how does it develop?
- Phylogeny (evolution): how did it evolve?
Example: chest-beating by gorillas
1. Its function: alarm, display, distance
communication
2. Its causation: arm & hand flexibility,
inflatable chest sacs
3. Its ontogeny: begins as feeble chest
Slapping in young gorillas, full range of
expression only in silverback males
4. Its evolution: related to drumming in
chimpanzees & humans?
5. Individual’s private experience: probably
confidence building
A descriptive catalogue of behaviours that occur within
the species
the ethogram
Term describing an instinctive behavioural sequence that is highly stereotyped and species-characteristic, ______ _______ pattern.
Fixed Action
INNATE BEHAVIOURS
FIXED ACTION PATTERNS (FAPs):
Strongly biologically determined; 2 different types
(degrees):
rituals
displays
Fixed Action Pattern that is stereotyped (same form throughout a species)
* shaped by natural selection
* strongly controlled by genetic mechanisms
Rituals
Learning without obvious reward
Latent learning
Fixed Action Pattern that is exaggerated ritualized signals
* more stereotyped
* more complex
* may include autonomic responses (e.g.,
piloerection, changes in blood flow, intention
movements, displacement movements etc.)
Displays
Silent bared teeth face, ranges from less to more diverse such as in primates and humans.
function of facial expressions in particular species (e.g. fear, submission, affiliation)
Early learning limited to a short critical period; Irreversible; Prefigures later responses
Imprinting
Solving a problem through perceiving interrelationships
Insight learning
Behaviour (act) or structure which alters behaviour of others - effective because of receiver’s response
Signal
Feature of the world, animate or inanimate, that can be used as a guide to future action
Cue
Evolutionary process that stereotypes a cue into a signal
Ritualization
Signal whose cost is greater than required by sheer efficacy (effectiveness)
Handicap
(huge size, cheeks… requires more food)
vulnerability
Loss of fitness resulting from making a signal
Cost
Signal whose intensity is causally related to quality
being signaled & which cannot be faked (e.g., olfactory secretions used for marking)
Index
Signal whose reliability does not depend on its cost - i.e. not a handicap- & which can be made by most members of the population- i.e. not an index (e.g., communal troop defensive vocalisations)
Minimal cost signal
A signal whose form is similar to its meaning (e.g., pointing)
Icon
A signal whose form is unrelated to its meaning (e.g.,
language)
Symbol
Dan and Joel, both 4-year-olds, have seen all the Spiderman movies. Joel’s mother recently found the boys standing on the garage roof, ready to try jumping across to the next roof. What best accounts for the boy’s behaviour?
a. instinctive drift
b. observational learning
c. immediate reinforcement
d. classical conditioning
b.
observational learning
In Pavlov’s experiments on the salivary conditioning of dogs, the Unconditioned Stimulus (US) was:
a. a tone
b. salivation to the sound of a tone
c. the presentation of food
d. salivation to the food
c. the presentation of food
Extinction occurs most quickly after which schedule of reinforcement?
A.
variable ratio
B.
fixed interval
C.
variable interval
D.
continuous
B.
fixed interval
Positive and negative reinforcers are similar in that both:
a.
involve consequences that are aversive
b.
involve consequences that are positive or pleasant
c.
are used to strengthen or increase the likelihood of behaviours
d.
are used to weaken or decrease the likelihood of behaviours
c.
are used to strengthen or increase the likelihood of behaviours
In classical conditioning discrimination refers to how a:
a.
CR can be triggered by many different stimuli
b.
CR is triggered by one stimulus but not be others
c.
CR can fade when a CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS
d.
UCS can become a conditioned stimulus
b.
CR is triggered by one stimulus but not be others
Long after her conditioned fear of dogs had been extinguished, Marcy experienced a unexpected surge of nervousness when first shown her cousin’s new cocker spaniel. Her unexpected nervousness best illustrates
a.
latent learning
b.
spontaneous recovery
c.
delayed reinforcement
d.
shaping
b.
spontaneous recovery
If a child has a tantrum and receives a slap on the wrist, this is an example of:
a.
positive reinforcement
b.
negative reinforcement
c.
positive punishment
d.
negative punishment
c.
positive punishment
When you have a few drinks you really ‘come out of your shell’ and ‘lose your inhibitions’, which makes you want to drink more. This is an example of:
A.
negative reinforcement
B.
positive reinforcement
C.
positive punishment
D.
negative punishment
B.
positive reinforcement
Luke gets paid a fixed sum after every four tennis racquets he restrings. He is on a _________ schedule of reinforcement.
A.
fixed interval
B.
fixed ratio
C.
variable interval
D.
variable ratio
B.
fixed ratio
A patient starts chemotherapy and becomes ill each time after he receives it. After a few weeks of treatment, he develops anticipatory nausea in the waiting room at the hospital. In this instance, the _________ would be the Unconditioned Response (UCR).
A.
Nausea induced by chemotherapy
B.
Waiting room
C.
Chemotherapy
D.
Nausea induced by the waiting room
A.
Nausea induced by chemotherapy
A reason poker machines can be so addictive is because they use the schedule of reinforcement least prone to extinction. Which schedule is this?
a.
fixed ratio
b.
fixed interval
c.
variable interval
d.
variable ratio
d.
variable ratio
Abby has always hated going to the dentist and would tremble with anxiety whenever she had to undergo any dental treatment. Now when she hears a dental drill on TV she begins to shake and her heart races. In this instance the drill is:
A.
an unconditioned stimulus
B.
a conditioned response
C.
an unconditioned response
D.
a conditioned stimulus.
D.
a conditioned stimulus.
For some children who bite themselves or bang their heads, squirting water into their faces when they hurt themselves has been observed to decrease the frequency of these self-abusive behaviors. This best illustrates the potential value of:
A.
punishment
B.
conditioned reinforcers.
C.
negative reinforcers
D.
latent learning.
A.
punishment
A fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement is one in which a response is reinforced only after a(n)
a.
specific time period has elapsed
b.
unpredictable time period has elapsed
c.
specified number of responses have been made
d.
unpredictable number of responses have been made
c.
specified number of responses have been made
The process of selectively reinforcing responses that are closer and closer approximations of some desired response is called:
a. stimulus discrimination
b. selection
c. shaping
d. step-wise conditioning
c. shaping
A hay fever sufferer sees a flower on a restaurant table and, not realizing it is plastic, experiences a rapidly accelerating heartbeat and profuse perspiration. This most clearly illustrates that stress reactions can result from:
A.
operant conditioning
B.
the self-fulfilling prophecy
C.
classical conditioning.
D.
observational learning
C.
classical conditioning.
The reappearance, after a time lapse, of an extinguished CR is called
a.
generalization
b.
spontaneous recovery
c.
discrimination
d.
higher-order conditioning
b.
spontaneous recovery
In Pavlov’s experiments, the taste of food triggered the dog’s salivation. Salivation to the taste of food was a(n):
a.
conditioned response
b.
unconditioned response
c.
unconditioned stimulus
d.
conditioned stimulus
b.
unconditioned response
